Karen Traviss confirms TCW is for kids

From TFN:

From Karen Traviss on her official website:

"Yes, there is a NEW SERIES out this month, and judging by the mail I'm getting, folks don't seem to realise what it is.

There's a NEW FIVE-BOOK STAR WARS SERIES for adult readers based on the Clone Wars movie and TV cartoon show, and I'm writing three of them.

But because the movie and the TV show are for the youngsters, and I write adult fiction, then you can deduce that the novels will show you stuff you won't see on screen. (This is separate from the young adult books that are also being published.)

CLONE WARS, the hardcover based on the movie - loosely based, so no griping that it's different, because that's the whole point - is out on July 26. Full of the gritty, off-message, character-testing, question-raising, grey-area, military-oriented stuff you've come to expect from me. And clones. Plenty of clones. And familiar characters from the movies that you won't see quite the same way ever again.

My good buddy Karen Miller is writing the other two novels. She doesn't write predictable books either, so stand by for a challenging series that will make you take another fresh look at the Clone Wars.

I'll be pimping the books at Comic Con in San Diego, July 24 - 27, with a short book tour immediately afterwards. I'll post cities and dates when they're all confirmed."



So that's pretty much official confirmation, especially coming from someone with Traviss' reputation, that The Clone Wars will be child-oriented, so I think we might have to scale back our expectations as an adult audience. I'm 31 and I have enough poodoo to clean up, I don't need any more jokes about it.

 

I'm assuming by TV show she was speaking of the two previous seasons of the Clone Wars. That would only make sense. I would agree with her in that it is definitely for a younger audience. Anytime you animate it, it always becomes that.

 

Errrm...All Star Wars movies are made "for youngsters". It's the generally tedious EU novels that are allegedly made for adults.

 

Star Wars has always been for everyone but children obviously love it. Yes, there wasn't any child humor in the Original Trilogy, but that kind of humor is something we should at least be used to as fans.

 

Wait, wait, this upcoming PG-rated cartoon starring a preadolescent Jedi is for kids?!?!

I AM SHOCKED AND DISMAYED!!!

 

Obviously SW will never be rated worse than PG-13, but it just seems to me like they're really pushing this to be for a younger audience in general, whereas with The Saga, I think Lucas was aiming for something that any age could watch.

And by young, I mean 4-12 year olds.

So in comparison to the films, I think it's going to be more obviously child-oriented.

 

Yes, I think it was made mostly with kids, young children in mind, but if you keep the target audience in mind, you can still enjoy it as an adult SW fan.

 

Anytime something is animated, most adults categorize it in their heads as a 'cartoon for kids'. Even if it's Star Wars, they still do. I know I have for the Clone Wars.

 

And just because the CW is for kids, that doesn't mean that adults can't enjoy them. I mean hell, Trix are for kids and that's my favorite cereal.

 

I agree with you on that. I loved the two seasons of Clone Wars on Cartoon Network.

 

Don't you mean "especially if it's Star Wars"?

And I also agree. I loved the old SW Cartoons as well, and I have a feeling this will be a lot better.

 

This cartoon will be better because the plot is much more fleshed out than two minute episodes. And even though the style and look is an upgrade from the two series on Cartoon Network, it seems to have the look and feel of a very well done video game for PS3.

 

Yeah, here's hoping the next KOTOR looks like this.


Unless they've changed their minds, what they were telling us from the get-go was that the action pieces in the show would be very much like the theatrical Sagak, but we'd be getting into characters, plots and themes the movies didn't have time for.

It's really going to be down to the storytelling, whether this holds my attention for longer than 1 year.

 

I'm sure there will be great storytelling if Lucas was involved and it's feature length. That's what will sell the film - the ability of the story to pull us into a relationship with the characters and, in some way, identify with them.

 

I've not read an "adult" SW novel, but I have a hard time picturing how somebody can market SW to adults. If a child is in a book store with his/her parents and is a fan of SW, then simply spotting a book on the shelf that bears the "STAR WARS" title in big bold letters is going to peak their interest. That's more or less how it was for me as a kid, a "sweet! Star Wars!" mentality, and not an "oh wait, this book is probably for more mature readers; I better stick to the kiddy section," mentality.

I mean, I can't imagine an author describing a clone getting blown up by a mine and his buddy trying to hold his intestines in while waiting for a medic. And with curses such as "fierfek" and "poodoo," I don't know how vulgar language can be. I have a hard time picturing anything quite so graphic. I really think no matter how hard one tries to market it towards "adults", Star Wars, with its wizards, laser swords, robots, and ray guns, will always appeal more to children. But that doesn't mean that older audiences can't enjoy it as well.

 

For me, I always come back to the original trilogy when it comes to crossing lines. How bad can the Clone Wars possibly be in terms of content? The Empire Strikes Back straight up presented incestual topics as Luke desired his sister and made out with her. In Return of the Jedi, Leia was a scantily-clad slave in a neck chain controlled by a male.

 

The ESB was hardly doing anything "incestual." He "lusted" after Leia more in ANH than he did in ESB. She kissed him one time, and it wasn't like it was a romantic kiss or anything. And after that, Luke hardly has any interaction with Leia as he's off doing his own thing.

 

Oh I know. I was just making the point that, in light of all 6 films, I have no issue with Ahsoka's appearance.

 

I'm a kid at heart, so it doesnt bother me

 

Its obvious that animated movies and shows will be more child oriented. This will be a great introduction to Star Wars for a new generation of kids.

The live action shiw will be more for the adults, I suspect.

 

AFAIK (I apologize if I'm mistaken), nobody mentioned Ahsoka's clothing in this thread. I know that *I* mentioned something about Ahsoka's appearance in another thread, but that's not what I was alluding to in this one - I'm assuming your comment was directed at me because of the other thread, forgive me if I'm mistaken. I'm simply confused as to how Karen Traviss is touting about her books being more "adult" than the shows which are "for kids."

I don't exactly know what one can do to make SW more "adult." I mean, if you make it too gritty and too humorless, then it ceases to feel like Star Wars. Take the KOTOR games for instance, I LOVE those games, but I don't love them because they're Star Wars. I like them because they're fun games, but I don't think they have the same feeling as the films... at all. Granted, they have Jedi and blasters and wookiees, but as far as how the story and characters are presented, it doesn't feel like Star Wars to me; it's substantially different than the presentation of the films. Thus, I don't really agree with what Karen is saying. Is TCW for kids? I wouldn't imagine any more so than the films (though some films were more kid friendly than others). With Lucas' involvement, I'd imagine that this upcoming film and subsequent series will possess all of the qualities that make Star Wars what it is. I think Karen Traviss' opinion thus might be somewhat biased. She writes adult fiction, but I think that in making SW more "adult" she has to change Lucas' established formula, such that while her books might be good - or even great (I've not read any of her work) - I would imagine that I lose a little bit of the SW magic (for lack of a better term).

For this reason, I've not lost any interest in the upcoming shows given Traviss' comment.